[BamaFan121s]

No one could be sure what kind of information the Volturi had access to, but we weren't taking any chances in any event. Considering that a sudden booking of eight first class passengers to Italy may have aroused suspicions and because our trip was not exactly planned, we all sat in coach, surrounded by other passengers who were completely clueless that they had been joined last minute by a family of vampires.

We had decided that a direct flight was not the best route to go. We'd initially left from the Portland airport and changed planes in both Houston and Atlanta before boarding the final flight that would take us to Turin. Our transatlantic portion of the journey was a rather silent one. On occasion, there would be hushed exchanges between our family, but any words spoken were far too quiet and fast for any of the other surrounding passengers to make and sense of - if they even heard them at all.

It was during the latter portion of the flight that I allowed myself to again think of the family I was leaving behind. I knew that the plane carrying half of them to Jacksonville would be arriving within the hour. A call placed from the on board satellite phone confirmed that Sam and the wolves had arrived safely in Denali without encountering any unforeseen obstacles along the way. Despite our current circumstances, this knowledge along with the fact that Demetri was dead brought a smile to my face. Yes, they would be safe.

After what seemed like an eternity, even for a vampire, our flight finally began its descent. Without speaking, a tightened my grip on Edward's hand ever so slightly as a reassurance and reminder to myself. Whatever lay ahead - success or failure - we would be entering into it together, our own individual fates fused together as one.

After disembarking from our plane, we walked at a human pace, making an effort to blend in as much as possible. I reminded myself of our plan as we made our way through the corridors of the airport.

We would travel together by foot to the outskirts of Volterra. There, we would locate one of the many entrances to the tunnels below the city that Jasper had deemed as our best option and wait until daybreak. That was the easy part.

From there, Edward, Alice and myself would dress in the Volturi robes and make our way towards the entrance to the city. There was only one gate leading into sub-terranian Volterra, which we were positive would be monitored, although to what degree, we were unsure. Jasper felt confident that any guards near the entrance would be minimal at best. Given the fact that half of the guard had either fled, been destroyed, or both, he was betting that any guards assigned to patrolling the inner walls would be located centrally to St. Mark's Square where they could reenter the heart of the underground lair at a moment's notice.

It made me very uncomfortable for us to have to separate, but if there was any chance of us entering the tunnels and finding Jacob, this was the best option we could come up with-to draw the guard to us. We were timing our arrival during the largest influx of tourists into the city, when it was discovered that we were within the city walls-and we fully understood that we would be detected-the Volturi would be hesitant to act on stopping us in the midst of the general public, or so we hoped. Hopefully that would open at least a slight window of opportunity for the rest of the family.

A part of me hoped that the Volturi's arrogance and overconfidence would act as their biggest disadvantage and everything would transpire according to plan. A very small part of me. The larger, realistic part of me knew that we were amateurs and the guard were centuries old, experienced vampires who likely had countless contingency plans.

Other than that, we were going to have to act on instinct alone as things transpired. I did not like instinct alone.

We slowed our pace a considerable distance from Volterra and crept in the general direction of where Jasper had determined the tunnel entrance would be. We paused frequently for Edward to try to locate any possible mental voice of anyone nearby. Fortunately, we met no resistance right up to the base of the city. After a few minutes of searching from the cover of the nearby woods, Emmett spotted the grate-covered entrance we were looking for protruding deep set into the side of the hill on top of which sat the ancient city.

And so, we waited until sunrise.

Edward had remained silent as we waited, trying to extend his ability and scan the thoughts of anyone within the city or through the grated entrance, but was unable to detect even the faintest of thoughts. This was a good sign - it meant no one was within our immediate vicinity.

Jasper again began going over our plan as we listened intently, despite having already committing it to memory. He made a few last minute suggestions regarding hand to hand strategy, which would unavoidably come into play at some point. I tried to listen to him and absorb all that he was saying, but soon found myself staring blankly at the entrance before us as I rested my head on Edward's shoulder. Somewhere, through that tunnel, beneath that city, was Jacob.

The longer a sat locked in my own silent contemplations, the more the anger inside me began to build. Not just on account of Jacob, but on behalf of everything my family had been forced to deal with at the hands of the Volturi - Edward as he had writhed on the floor in agony under Jane's torturous gift, our family and friends who'd been forced to lay their lives on the line in Forks so many months ago, and our recent comrades - Chelsea, Heidi and Renata, who'd sacrificed their life on our behalf. As I recounted all these horrendous acts, my vision blurred I felt bloodlust mounting within me.

I'm not sure how long Jasper spent doling out last minute directives to myself and the rest of the Cullens. I was only vaguely aware when the horizon to our left and right became tinged with pink, and then slowly to orange and yellow as the sun began to rise. I was only pulled from my thoughts when Jasper suddenly grasp my arm, causing me to jump in shock. I pulled my eyes from the tunnel and peered back into his own amber pair as he spoke to me. "Bella, we will get him back."

At last, Alice rose to her feet. "It's time," she proclaimed simply. "Tour buses will be arriving when we reach the gate." She looked to me and Edward as we took the robes that she offered us. She quickly put hers on and stood for a long minute, staring silently into Jasper's eyes.

"To hell with good-byes," Emmett spoke up gruffly as he turned to the three of us. "We'll be seeing you three shortly. Let's do this." He flexed the muscles in his arms, eager to put our plan in motion. "What?" he asked, looking around at all of us. He grinned widely and looked absolutely terrifying. "I've been waiting for this for too long."

His comments and attitude seemed to break the spell, setting us all in motion, everyone reassured by his ever present confidence.

"Good luck" were Jasper's parting words as we turned and made our way towards the gate. We ghosted silently along, staying undercover of the trees as long as possible. We watched the cars full of eager tourists as they crept up the winding rode leading to the gate. We stepped onto the road beside a slow approaching tour bus, using it to shield us from view as much as possible. Just before the reaching the gate, the massive bus took a sudden turn into a large gravel area that already held several larger vehicles.